Tacitus, an important Roman historian,
wrote this detailed description of the Germans about 98 CE,
not from personal knowledge but from tales told by others. He
was commenting on the Rome of his own time, as much as on the
Germans themselves. This is in two parts, from different
translators.

The following first part is from The
Agricola and Germania, A. J. Church and W. J. Brodribb,
trans., (London: Macmillan, 1877), pp. 87- 1.

The Inhabitants. 0rigins of the Name
"Germany." The Germans themselves I should regard as
aboriginal, and not mixed at all with other races through
immigration or intercourse. For, in former times it was not by
land but on shipboard that those who sought to emigrate would
arrive; and the boundless and, so to speak, hostile ocean beyond
us, is seldom entered by a sail from our world. And, beside the
perils of rough and unknown seas, who would leave Asia, or
Africa for Italy for Germany, with its wild country, its
inclement skies, its sullen manners and aspect, unless indeed it
were his home? In their ancient songs, their only way of
remembering or recording the past they celebrate an earth-born
god Tuisco, and his son Mannus, as the origin of their race, as
their founders. To Mannus they assign three sons, from whose
names, they say, the coast tribes are called Ingaevones; those
of the interior, Herminones; all the rest, Istaevones. Some,
with the freedom of conjecture permitted by antiquity, assert
that the god had several descendants, and the nation several
appellations, as Marsi, Gambrivii, Suevi, Vandilij, and that
these are nine old names. The name Germany, on the other hand,
they say is modern and newly introduced, from the fact that the
tribes which first crossed the Rhine and drove out the Gauls,
and are now called Tungrians, were then called Germans. Thus
what was the name of a tribe, and not of a race, gradually
prevailed, till all called themselves by this self-invented name
of Germans, which the conquerors had first employed to inspire
terror.

The National War-Songs.... They say
that Hercules, too, once visited them; and when going into
battle, they sing of him first of all heroes. They have also
those songs of theirs, by the recital of which ("baritus," they
call it), they rouse their courage, while from the note they
augur the result of the approaching conflict. For, as their line
shouts, they inspire or feel alarm. It is not so much an
articulate sound, as a general cry of valor. They aim chiefly at
a harsh note and a confused roar, putting their shields to their
mouth, so that, by reverberation, it may swell into a fuller and
deeper sound.

Physical Characteristics. For my own
part, I agree with those who think that the tribes of Germany
are free from all taint of intermarriages with foreign nations,
and that they appear as a distinct, unmixed race, like none but
themselves. Hence, too, the same physical peculiarities
throughout so vast a population. All have fierce blue eyes, red
hair, huge frames, fit only for a sudden exertion. They are less
able to bear laborious work. Heat and thirst they cannot in the
least endure; to cold and hunger their climate and their soil
inure them.

Climate and Soil. Precious Metals.
Their country, though somewhat various in appearance, yet
generally either bristles with forests or reeks with swamps; it
is more rainy on the side of Gaul, bleaker on that of Noricum
and Pannonia. It is productive of grain, but unfavourable to
fruit-bearing trees; it is rich in flocks and herds, but these
are for the most part undersized, and even the cattle have not
their usual beauty or noble head. It is number that is chiefly
valued; they are in fact the most highly prized, indeed the only
riches of the people. Silver and gold the gods have refused to
them, whether in kindness or in anger I cannot say. I would not,
however, affirm that no vein of German soil produces gold or
silver, for who has ever made a search? They care but little to
possess or use them. You may see among them vessels of silver,
which have been presented to their envoys and chieftains, held
as cheap as those of the clay. The border population, however,
value gold and silver for their commercial utility, and are
familiar with, and show preference for, some of our coins. The
tribes of the interior use the simpler and more ancient practice
of the barter of commodities. They like the old and well known
money, coins milled, or showing a two-horse chariot. They
likewise prefer silver to gold, not from any special liking, but
because a large number of silver pieces is more convenient for
use among dealers in cheap and common articles.

Arms Military Manoeuvres and Discipline
Even iron is not plentiful with them, as we infer from the
character of their weapons. But few use swords or long lances.
They carry a spear (framea is their name for it), with a
narrow and short head, but so sharp and easy to wield that the
same weapon serves, according to circumstances, for close or
distant conflict. As for the horse-soldier, he is satisfied with
a shield and spear; the foot-soldiers also scatter showers of
missiles each man having several and hurling them to an immense
distance, and being naked or lightly clad with a little cloak.
There is no display about their equipment; their shields alone
are marked with very choice colours. A few only have corslets,
and just one or two here and there a metal or leather helmet.
Their horses are remarkable neither for beauty nor for
fleetness. Nor are they taught various evolutions after our
fashion, but are driven straight forward, or so as to make one
wheel to the right in such a compact body that none is left
behind another. On the whole, one would say that their chief
strength is in their infantry, which fights along with the
cavalry; admirably adapted to the action of the latter is the
swiftness of certain foot-soldiers, who are picked from the
entire youth of their country, and stationed in front of the
line. Their number is fixed -- a hundred from each canton; and
from this they take their name among their countrymen, so that
what was originally a mere number has no become a title of
distinction. Their line of battle is drawn up in a wedge-like
formation. To give ground, provided you return to the attack, is
considered prudence rather than cowardice. The bodies of their
slain they carry off even in indecisive engagements. To abandon
your shield is the basest of crimes; nor may a man thus
disgraced be present at the sacred rites, or enter their
council; many, indeed, after escaping from battle, have ended
their infamy with the halter.

Government. Influence of Women. They
choose their kings by birth, their generals for merit. These
kings have not unlimited or arbitrary power, and the generals do
more by example than by authority. If they are energetic, if
they are conspicuous, if they fight in the front, they lead
because they are admired. But to reprimand, to imprison, even to
flog, is permitted to the priests alone, and that not as a
punishment, or at the general's bidding, but, as it were, by the
mandate of the god whom they believe to inspire the warrior.
They also carry with them into battle certain figures and images
taken from their sacred groves. And what most stimulates their
courage is, that their squadrons or battalions, instead of being
formed by chance or by a fortuitous gathering, are composed of
families and clans. Close by them, too, are those dearest to
them, so that they hear the shrieks of women, the cries of
infants. They are to every man the most sacred witnesses of his
bravery-they are his most generous applauders. The soldier
brings his wounds to mother and wife, who shrink not from
counting or even demanding them and who administer food and
encouragement to the combatants.

Tradition says that armies already wavering
and giving way have been rallied by women who, with earnest
entreaties and bosoms laid bare, have vividly represented the
horrors of captivity, which the Germans fear with such extreme
dread on behalf of their women, that the strongest tie by which
a state can be bound is the being required to give, among the
number of hostages, maidens of noble birth. They even believe
that the sex has a certain sanctity and prescience, and they do
not despise their counsels, or make light of their answers. In
Vespasian's days we saw Veleda, long regarded by many as a
divinity. In former times, too, they venerated Aurinia, and many
other women, but not with servile flatteries, or with sham
deification.

Deities. Mercury is the deity whom
they chiefly worship, and on certain days they deem it right to
sacrifice to him even with human victims. Hercules and Mars they
appease with more lawful offerings. Some of the Suevi also
sacrifice to Isis. Of the occasion and origin of this foreign
rite I have discovered nothing, but that the image, which is
fashioned like a light galley, indicates an imported worship.
The Germans, however, do not consider it consistent with the
grandeur of celestial beings to confine the gods within walls,
or to liken them to the form of any human countenance. They
consecrate woods and groves, and they apply the names of deities
to the abstraction which they see only in spiritual worship.

Auguries and Method of Divination.
Augury and divination by lot no people practise more diligently.
The use of the lots is simple. A little bough is lopped off a
fruit-bearing tree, and cut into small pieces; these are
distinguished by certain marks, and thrown carelessly and at
random over a white garment. In public questions the priest of
the particular state, in private the father of the family,
invokes the gods, and, with his eyes toward heaven, takes up
each piece three times, and finds in them a meaning according to
the mark previously impressed on them. If they prove
unfavourable, there is no further consultation that day about
the matter; if they sanction it, the confirmation of augury is
still required. For they are also familiar with the practice of
consulting the notes and flight of birds. It is peculiar to this
people to seek omens and monitions from horses. Kept at the
public expense, in these same woods and groves, are white
horses, pure from the taint of earthly labour; these are yoked
to a sacred car, and accompanied by the priest and the king, or
chief of the tribe, who note their neighings and snortings. No
species of augury is more trusted, not only by the people and by
the nobility, but also by the priests, who regard themselves as
the ministers of the gods, and the horses as acquainted with
their will. They have also another method of observing auspices,
by which they seek to learn the result of an important war.
Having taken, by whatever means, a prisoner from the tribe with
whom they are at war, they pit him against a picked man of their
own tribe, each combatant using the weapons of their country.
The victory of the one or the other is accepted as an indication
of the issue.

Councils- About minor matters the
chiefs deliberate, about the more important the whole tribe. Yet
even when the final decision rests with the people, the affair
is always thoroughly discussed by the chiefs. They assemble,
except in the case of a sudden emergency, on certain fixed days,
either at new or at full moon; for this they consider the most
auspicious season for the transaction of business. Instead of
reckoning by days as we do, they reckon by nights, and in this
manner fix both their ordinary and their legal appointments.
Night they regard as bringing on day. Their freedom has this
disadvantage, that they do not meet simultaneously or as they
are bidden, but two or three days are wasted in the delays of
assembling. When the multitude think proper, they sit down
armed. Silence is proclaimed by the priests, who have on these
occasions the right of keeping order. Then the king or the
chief, according to age, birth, distinction in war, or
eloquence, is heard, more because he has influence to persuade
than because he has power to command. If his sentiments
displease them, they reject them with murmurs; if they are
satisfied, they brandish their spears. The most complimentary
form of assent is to express approbation with their spears.

Punishments. Administration of Justice.
In their councils an accusation may be preferred or a capital
crime prosecuted. Penalties are distinguished according to the
offence. Traitors and deserters are hanged on trees; the coward,
the unwarlike, the man stained with abominable vices, is plunged
into the mire of the morass with a hurdle put over him. This
distinction in punishment means that crime, they think, ought,
in being punished, to be exposed, while infamy ought to be
buried out of sight- Lighter offences, too, have penalties
proportioned to them; he who is convicted, is fined in a certain
number of horses or of cattle. Half of the fine is paid to the
king or to the state, half to the person whose wrongs are
avenged and to his relatives. In these same councils they also
elect the chief magistrates, who administer law in the cantons
and the towns. Each of these has a hundred associates chosen
from the people, who support him with their advice and
influence.

Training of Youth They transact no
public or private business without being armed. it is not,
however, usual for anyone to wear arms till the state has
recognized his power to use them. Then in the presence of the
council one of the chiefs, or the young man's father, or some
kinsman, equips him with a shield and a spear. These arms are
what the "toga" is with us, the first honour with which youth is
invested. Up to this time he is regarded as a member of a
household, after-wards as a member of the commonwealth. Very
noble birth or great services rendered by the father secure for
lads the rank of a chief; such lads attach themselves to men of
mature strength and of long approved valour. It is no shame to
be seen among a chief's followers. Even in his escort there are
gradations of rank, dependent on the choice of the man to whom
they are attached. These followers vie keenly with each others
as to who shall rank first with his chiefs, the chiefs as to who
shall have the most numerous and the bravest followers. It is an
honour as well as a source of strength to be thus always
surrounded by a large body of picked youths; it is an ornament
in peace and a defence in war. And not only in his own tribe but
also in the neighboring states it is the renown and glory of a
chief to be distinguished for the number and valour of his
followers, for such a man is courted by embassies, is honoured
with presents, and the very prestige of his name ofen settles a
war.

Warlike Ardour of the People. When
they go into battle, it is a disgrace for the chief to be
surpassed in valour, a disgrace for his followers not to equal
the valour of the chief. And it is an infamy and a reproach for
life to have survived the chief, and returned from the field. To
defend, to protect him, to ascribe one's own brave deeds to his
renown, is the height of loyalty. The chief fights for victory;
his vassals fight for their chief. If their native state sinks
into the sloth of prolonged peace and repose, many of its noble
youths voluntarily seek those tribes which are waging some war,
both because inaction is odious to their race, and because they
win renown more readily in the midst of peril, and cannot
maintain a numerous following except by violence and war.
Indeed, men look to the liberality of their chief for their
war-horse and their bloodstained and victorious lance. Feasts
and entertainments, which, though inelegant, are plentifully
furnished, are their only pay. The means of this bounty come
from war and rapine. Nor are they as easily persuaded to plough
the earth and to wait for the year's produce as to challenge an
enemy and earn the honour of wounds. Nay, they actually think it
tame and stupid to acquire by the sweat of toil what they might
win by their blood.

Habits in Time of Peace. Whenever
they are not fighting, they pass much of their time in the
chase, and still more in idleness, giving themselves up to sleep
and to feasting, the bravest and the most warlike doing nothing,
and surrendering the management of the household, of the home,
and of the land, to the women, the old men, and all the weakest
members of the family. They themselves lie buried in sloth, a
strange combination in their nature that the same men should be
so fond of idleness, so averse to peace. It is the custom of the
states to bestow by voluntary and individual contribution on the
chiefs a present of cattle or of grain, which, while accepted as
a compliment, supplies their wants. They are particularly
delighted by gifts from neighbouring tribes, which are sent not
only by individuals but also by the state, such as choice
steeds, heavy armour, trappings, and neck-chains. We have now
taught them to acccept money also.

Arrangement of Their Towns, Subterranean
Dwellings It is well known that the nations of Germany
have not cities, and that they do not even tolerate closely
contiguous dwellings. They live scattered and apart, just as a
spring, a meadow, or a wood has attracted them. Their village
they do not arrange in our fashion, with the buildings connected
and joined together, but every person surrounds his dwelling
with an open space, either as a precaution against the disasters
of fire, or because they do not know how to build. No use is
made by them of stone or tile; they employ timber for all
purposes, rude masses without ornament or attractiveness. Some
parts of their buildings they stain more carefully with a clay
so clear and bright that it resembles painting, or a coloured
design. They are wont also to dig out subterranean caves, and
pile on them great heaps of dung shelter from winter and as a
receptacle for the year's produce, for by such places they
mitigate the rigour of the cold. And should an enemy approach,
he lays waste the open country, while what is hidden and buried
is either not known to exist, or escapes him from the very fact
that it has to be searched for.

Dress They all wrap themselves in a
cloak which is fastened with a clasp, or, if this is not
forthcoming, with a thorn, leaving the rest of their persons
bare. They pass whole days on the hearth by the fire. The
wealthiest are distinguished by a dress which is not flowing
like that of the Sarmatae and Parthi, but is tight, and exhibits
each limb. They also wear the skins of wild beasts; the tribes
on the Rhine and Danube in a careless fashion, those of the
interior with more elegance, as not obtaining other clothing by
commerce. These select certain animals, the hides of which they
strip off and vary them with the spotted skins of beasts, the
produce of the outer ocean, and of seas unknown to us. The women
have the same dress as the men except that they generally wrap
themselves in linen garments, which they embroider with purple,
and do not lengthen out the upper part of their clothing into
sleeves. The upper and lower arm is thus bare, and the nearest
part of the bosom is also exposed.

Marriage Laws. Their marriage code,
however, is strict, and indeed no part of their manners is more
praiseworthy. Almost alone among barbarians they are content
with one wife, except a very few among them, and these not from
sensuality, but because their noble birth procures for them many
offers of alliance. The wife does not bring a dower to the
husband, but the husband to the wife. The parents and relatives
are present, and pass judgment on the marriage-gifts, gifts not
meant to suit a woman's taste, nor such as a bride would deck
herself with, but oxen, a caparisoned steed, a shield, a lance,
and a sword. With these presents the wife is espoused, and she
herself in her turn brings her husband a gift of arms. This they
count their strongest bond of union, these their sacred
mysteries, these their gods of marriage. Lest the woman should
think herself to stand apart from aspirations after noble deeds
and from the perils of war, she is reminded by the ceremony
which inaugurates marriage that she is her husband's partner in
toil and danger, destined to suffer and to dare with him alike
both in in war. The yoked oxen, the harnessed steed, the gift of
arms proclaim this fact. She must live and die with the feeling
that she is receiving what she must hand down to her children
neither tarnished nor depreciated, what future daughters-in-law
may receive, and may be so passed on to her grandchildren.

Thus with their virtue protected they live
uncorrupted by the allurements of public shows or the stimulant
of feastings. Clandestine correspondence is equally unknown to
men and women. Very rare for so numerous a population is
adultery, the punishment for which is prompt, and in the
husband's power. Having cut off the hair of the adulteress and
stripped her naked, he expels her from the house in the presence
of her kinsfolk, and then flogs her through the whole village.
The loss of chastity meets with no indulgence; neither beauty,
youth, nor wealth will procure the culprit a husband. No one in
Germany laughs at vice, nor do they call it the fashion to
corrupt and to be corrupted. Still better is the condition of
those states in which only maidens are given in marriage, and
where the hopes and expectations of a bride are then finally
terminated. They receive one husband, as having one body and one
life, that they may have no thoughts beyond, no further-reaching
desires, that they may love not so much the husband as the
married state. To limit the number of children or to destroy any
of their subsequent offspring is accounted infamous, and good
habits are here more effectual than good laws elsewhere.

Their Children. Laws Of Succession.
In every household the children, naked and filthy, grow up with
those stout frames and limbs which we so much admire. Every
mother suckles her own offspring and never entrusts it to
servants and nurses. The master is not distinguished from the
slave by being brought up with greater delicacy. Both live amid
the same flocks and lie on the same ground till the freeborn are
distinguished by age and recognised by merit. The young men
marry late, and their vigour is thus unimpaired. Nor are the
maidens hurried into marriage; the same age and a similar
stature is required; well-matched and vigorous they wed, and the
offspring reproduce the strength of the parents. Sister's sons
are held in as much esteem by their uncles as by their fathers;
indeed, some regard the relation as even more sacred and
binding, and prefer it in receiving hostages, thinking thus to
secure a stronger hold on the affections and a wider bond for
the family. But every man's children are his heirs and
successors, and there are no wills. Should there be no issue,
the next in succession to the property are brothers and his
uncles on either side. The more relatives he has the more
numerous his connections, the more honoured is his old age; nor
are there any advantages in childlessness.

Hereditary Feuds-Fines for Homicide.
Hospitality It is a duty among them to adopt the feuds as
well as the friendships of a father or a kinsman. These feuds
are not implacable; even homicide is expiated by the payment of
a certain number of cattle and of sheep, and the satisfaction is
accepted by the entire family, greatly to the advantage of the
state, since feuds are dangerous in proportion to the people's
freedom.

No nation indulges more profusely in
entertainments and hospitality. To exclude any human being from
their roof is thought impious; every German, according to his
means, receives his guest with a well-furnished table. When his
supplies are exhausted, he who was but now the host becomes the
guide and companion to further hospitality, and without
invitation they go to the next house. It matters not; they are
entertained with like cordiality. No one distinguishes between
an acquaintance and a stranger, as regards the rights of
hospitality. It is usual to give the departing guest whatever he
may ask for, and a present in return is asked with as little
hesitation. They are greatly charmed with gifts, but they expect
no return for what they give, nor feel any obligation for what
they receive.

Habits of Life. On waking from
sleep, which they generally prolong for a late hour of the day,
they take a bath, most often of warm water, which suits a
country where winter is the longest of the seasons. After their
bath they take their meal, each having a separate seat and table
of his own. Then they go armed to business, or no less often to
their festal meetings. To pass an entire day and night in
drinking disgraces no one. Their quarrels, as might be expected
with intoxicated people, are seldom fought out with mere abuse,
but commonly with wounds and bloodshed. Yet it is at their
feasts that they generally consult on the reconciliation of
enemies, on the forming of matrimonial alliances, on the choice
of chiefs, finally even on peace and wai-, for they think that
at no time is the mind more open to simplicity of purpose or
more warmed to noble aspirations. A race without either natural
or acquired cunning, they disclose their hidden thoughts in the
freedom of the festivity. Thus the sentiments of all having been
discovered and laid bare, the discussion is renewed on the
following day, and from each occasion its own peculiar advantage
is derived. They deliberate when they have no power to
dissemble; they resolve when error is impossible.

Food A liquor for drinking is made
of barley or other grain, and fermented into a certain
resemblance to wine. The dwellers on the river-bank also buy
wine. Their food is of a simple kind, consisting of wild fruit,
fresh game, and curdled milk. They satisfy their hunger without
elaborate preparation and without delicacies. In quenching their
thirst they are equally moderate. If you indulge their love of
drinking by supplying them with as much as they desire, they
will be overcome by their own vices as easily as by the arms of
an enemy.

Sports. Passion for Gambling. One
and the same kind of spectacle is always exhibited at every
gathering. Naked youths who practise the sport bound in the
dance amid swords and lances that threaten their lives.
Experience gives them skill and skill again gives grace; profit
or pay are out of the question; however reckless their pastime,
its reward is the pleasure of the spectators. Strangely enough
they make games of hazard a serious occupation even when sober,
and so venturesome are they about gaining or losing, that, when
every other resource has failed, on the last and final throw
they stake the freedom of their own persons. The loser goes into
voluntary slavery; though the younger and stronger, he suffers
himself to be bound and sold. Such is their stubborn persistency
in a bad practice; they themselves call it honour. Slaves of
this kind the owners part with in the way of commerce, and also
to relieve themselves from the scandal of such a victory.

Slavery. The other slaves are not
employed after our manner with distinct domestic duties assigned
to them, but each one has the management of a house and home of
his own. The master requires from the slave a certain quantity
of grain, of cattle, and of clothing, as he would from a tenant,
and this is the limit of subjection. All other household
functions are discharged by the wife and children. To strike a
slave or to punish him with bonds or with hard labour is a rare
occurrence. They often kill them, not in enforcing strict
discipline, but on the impulse of passion, as they would an
enemy, only it is done with impunity. The freedmen do not rank
much above slaves, and are seldom of any weight in the family,
never in the state with the exception of those tribes which are
ruled by kings. There indeed they rise above the freeborn and
the noble; elsewhere the inferiority of the freedman marks the
freedom of the state.

Occupation of Land. Tillage. Of
lending money on interest and increasing it by compounding
interest they know nothing-a more effectual safeguard than if it
was prohibited.

Land proportioned to the number of
inhabitants is occupied by the whole community in turn, and
afterwards divided among them according to rank. A wide expanse
of plains makes the partition easy. They till fresh fields every
year, and they have still more land than enough; with the
richness and extent of their soil, they do not laboriously exert
themselves in planting orchards, enclosing meadows and watering
gardens. Corn is the only produce required from the earth; hence
even the year itself is not divided by them into as many seasons
as with us. Winter, spring, and summer have both a meaning and a
name; the name and blessings of autumn are alike unknown.

Funeral Rites. In their funerals
there is no pomp; they simply observe the custom of burning the
bodies of illustrious men with certain kinds of wood. They do
not heap garments or spices on the funeral pile. The arms of the
dead man and in some cases his horse are consigned to the fire.
A turf mound forms the tomb. Monuments with their lofty
elaborate splendour they reject as oppressive to the dead. Tears
and lamentations they soon dismiss; grief and sorrow but slowly.
It is thought becoming for women to bewail, for men to remember,
the dead.

Such on the whole is the account which I
have received of the origin and manners of the entire German
people.

The following, which gives a
geographical account of the locations of the main German tribes,
completes the text of the Germania, is from an
18th-century translation by Thomas Gordon.

I shall now deduce the institutions and
usages of the several people, as far as they vary one from
another; as also an account of what nations from thence removed,
to settle themselves in Gaul.

That the Gauls were in times past more
puissant and formidable, is related by the Prince of authors,
the deified Julius [ie Julius Caesar] and hence it is probable
that they too have passed into Germany. For what a small
obstacle must be a river, to restrain any nation, as each grew
more potent, from seizing or changing habitations; when as yet
all habitations were common, and not parted or appropriated by
the founding and terror of Monarchies? The region therefore
between the Hercynian Forest and the rivers Moenus [ie Main] and
Rhine, was occupied by the Helvetians; as was that beyond it by
the Boians, both nations of Gaul. There still remains a place
called Boiemum, which denotes the primitive name and antiquity
of the country, although the inhabitants have been changed. But
whether the Araviscans are derived from the Osians, a nation of
Germans passing into Pannonia, or the Osians from the Araviscans
removing from thence into Germany, is a matter undecided; since
they both still use the language, the same customs and the same
laws. For, as of old they lived alike poor and alike free, equal
proved the evils and advantages on each side the river, and
common to both people. The Treverians and Nervians aspire
passionately to the reputation of being descended from the
Germans; since by the glory of this original, they would escape
all imputation of resembling the Gauls in person and effeminacy.
Such as dwell upon the bank of the Rhine, the Vangiones, the
Tribocians, and the Nemetes, are without doubt all Germans. The
Ubians are ashamed of their original; though they have a
particular honour to boast, that of having merited an
establishment as a Roman Colony, and still delight to be called
Agrippinensians, after the name of their founder: they indeed
formerly came from beyond the Rhine, and, for the many proofs of
their fidelity, were settled upon the very bank of the river;
not to be there confined or guarded themselves, but to guard and
defend that boundary against the rest of the Germans.

Of all these nations, the Batavians are the
most signal in bravery. They inhabit not much territory upon the
Rhine, but possess an island in it. They were formerly part of
the Cattans, and by means of feuds at home removed to these
dwellings; whence they might become a portion of the Roman
Empire. With them this honour still remains, as also the
memorials of their ancient association with us: for they are not
under the contempt of paying tribute, nor subject to be squeezed
by the farmers of the revenue. Free from all impositions and
payments, and only set apart for the purposes of fighting, they
are reserved wholly for the wars, in the same manner as a
magazine of weapons and armour. Under the same degree of homage
are the nation of the Mattiacians. For such is the might and
greatness of the Roman People, as to have carried the awe and
esteem of their Empire beyond the Rhine and the ancient
boundaries. Thus the Mattiacians, living upon the opposite
banks, enjoy a settlement and limits of their own; yet in spirit
and inclination are attached to us: in other things resembling
the Batavians, save that as they still breathe their original
air, still possess their primitive soil, they are thence
inspired with superior vigour and keenness. Amongst the people
of Germany I would not reckon those who occupy the lands which
are under decimation, though they be such as dwell beyond the
Rhine and the Danube. By several worthless and vagabond Gauls,
and such as poverty rendered daring, that region was seized as
one belonging to no certain possessor: afterwards it became a
skirt of the Empire and part of a province, upon the enlargement
of our bounds and the extending of our garrisons and frontier.

Beyond these are the Cattans, whose
territories begin at the Hercynian Forest, and consist not of
such wide and marshy plains, as those of the other communities
contained within the vast compass of Germany; but produce ranges
of hills, such as run lofty and contiguous for a long tract,
then by degrees sink and decay. Moreover the Hercynian Forest
attends for a while its native Cattans, then suddenly forsakes
them. This people are distinguished with bodies more hardy and
robust, compact limbs, stern countenances, and greater vigour of
spirit. For Germans, they are men of much sense and address.
[Footnote: "Leur intelligence et leur finesse etonnent, dans des
Germains."] They dignify chosen men, listen to such as are set
over them, know how to preserve their post, to discern
occasions, to rebate their own ardour and impatience; how to
employ the day, how to entrench themselves by night. They
account fortune amongst things slippery and uncertain, but
bravery amongst such as are never-failing and secure; and, what
is exceeding rare nor ever to be learnt but by a wholesome
course of discipline, in the conduct of the general they repose
more assurance than in the strength of the army. Their whole
forces consist of foot, who besides their arms carry likewise
instruments of iron and their provisions. You may see other
Germans proceed equipped to battle, but the Cattans so as to
conduct a war.[Footnote 10: "Alios ad proelium ire videas,
Chattos ad bellum."] They rarely venture upon excursions or
casual encounters. It is in truth peculiar to cavalry, suddenly
to conquer, or suddenly to fly. Such haste and velocity rather
resembles fear. Patience and deliberation are more akin to
intrepidity.

Moreover a custom, practised indeed in
other nations of Germany, yet very rarely and confined only to
particulars more daring than the rest, prevails amongst the
Cattans by universal consent. As soon as they arrive to maturity
of years, they let their hair and beards continue to grow, nor
till they have slain an enemy do they ever lay aside this form
of countenance by vow sacred to valour. Over the blood and spoil
of a foe they make bare their face. They allege, that they have
now acquitted themselves of the debt and duty contracted by
their birth, and rendered themselves worthy of their country,
worthy of their parents. Upon the spiritless, cowardly and
unwarlike, such deformity of visage still
remains.[Footnote: "Manet squalor."] All the most brave
likewise wear an iron ring (a mark of great dishonour this in
that nation) and retain it as a chain; till by killing an enemy
they become released. Many of the Cattans delight always to bear
this terrible aspect; and, when grown white through age, become
awful and conspicuous by such marks, both to the enemy and their
own countrymen. By them in all engagements the first assault is
made: of them the front of the battle is always composed, as men
who in their looks are singular and tremendous. For even during
peace they abate nothing in the grimness and horror of their
countenance. They have no house to inhabit, no land to
cultivate, nor any domestic charge or care. With whomsoever they
come to sojourn, by him they are maintained; always very
prodigal of the substance of others, always despising what is
their own, till the feebleness of old age overtakes them, and
renders them unequal to the efforts of such rigid bravery.

Next to the Cattans, dwell the Usipians and
Tencterians; upon the Rhine now
running in a channel uniform and certain, such as suffices for a
boundary. The Tencterians, besides their wonted glory in war,
surpass in the service and discipline of their cavalry. Nor do
the Cattans derive higher applause from their foot, than the
Tencterians from their horse. Such was the order established by
their forefathers, and what their posterity still pursue. From
riding and exercising of horses, their children borrow their
pastimes; in this exercise the young men find matter for
emulating one another, and in this the old men take pleasure to
persevere. Horses are by the father bequeathed as part of his
household and family, horses are conveyed amongst the rights of
succession, and as such the son receives them; but not the
eldest son, like other effects, by priority of birth, but he who
happens to be signal in boldness and superior in war.

Contiguous to the Tencterians formerly
dwelt the Bructerians, in whose room it is said the Chamavians
and Angrivarians are now settled; they who expulsed and almost
extirpated the Bructerians, with the concurrence of the
neighbouring nations: whether in detestation of their arrogance,
or allured by the love of spoil, or through the special favour
of the Gods towards us Romans. They in truth even vouchsafed to
gratify us with the sight of the battle. In it there fell above
sixty thousand souls, without a blow struck by the Romans; but,
what is a circumstance still more glorious, fell to furnish them
with a spectacle of joy and recreation. May the Gods continue
and perpetuate amongst these nations, if not any love for us,
yet by all means this their animosity and hate towards each
other: since whilst the destiny of the Empire thus urges it,
fortune cannot more signally befriend us, than in sowing strife
amongst our foes.

The Angrivarians and Chamavians are
enclosed behind, by the Dulgibinians and Chasuarians; and by
other nations not so much noted: before, the Frisians face them.
The country of Frisia is divided into two; called the greater
and lesser, according to the measure of their strength. Both
nations stretch along the Rhine, quite to the ocean; and
surround vast lakes such as once have borne Roman fleets. We
have moreover even ventured out from thence into the ocean, and
upon its coasts common fame has reported the pillars of Hercules
to be still standing: whether it be that Hercules ever visited
these parts, or that to his renowned name we are wont to ascribe
whatever is grand and glorious everywhere. Neither did Drusus
who made the attempt, want boldness to pursue it: but the
roughness of the ocean withstood him, nor would suffer
discoveries to be made about itself, no more than about
Hercules. Thenceforward the enterprise was dropped: nay, more
pious and reverential it seemed, to believe the marvellous feats
of the Gods than to know and to prove them. [Footnote: "Coelum
ipsum petimus stultitia."]

Hitherto, I have been describing Germany
towards the west. To the northward, it winds away with an
immense compass. And first of all occurs the nation of the
Chaucians: who though they begin immediately at the confines of
the Frisians, and occupy part of the shore, extend so far as to
border upon all the several people whom I have already
recounted; till at last, by a Circuit, they reach quite to the
boundaries of the Cattans. A region so vast, the Chaucians do
not only possess but fill; a people of all the Germans the most
noble, such as would rather maintain their grandeur by justice
than violence. They live in repose, retired from broils abroad,
void of avidity to possess more, free from a spirit of
domineering over others. They provoke no wars, they ravage no
countries, they pursue no plunder. Of their bravery and power,
the chief evidence arises from hence, that, without wronging or
oppressing others, they are come to be superior to all. Yet they
are all ready to arm, and if an exigency require, armies are
presently raised, powerful and abounding as they are in men and
horses; and even when they are quiet and their weapons laid
aside, their credit and name continue equally high.

Along the side of the Chaucians and Cattans
dwell the Cheruscans; a people who finding no enemy to rouse
them, were enfeebled by a peace over lasting and uniform, but
such as they failed not to nourish. A conduct which proved more
pleasing than secure; since treacherous is that repose which you
enjoy amongst neighbours that are very powerful and very fond of
rule and mastership. When recourse is once had to the sword,
modesty and fair dealing will be vainly pleaded by the weaker;
names these which are always assumed by the stronger. Thus the
Cheruscans, they who formerly bore the character of good and
upright, are now called cowards and fools; and the fortune of
the Cattans who subdued them, grew immediately to be wisdom. In
the ruin of the Cheruscans, the Fosians, also their neighbours,
were involved; and in their calamities bore an equal share,
though in their prosperity they had been weaker and less
considered.

In the same winding tract of Germany live
the Cimbrians, close to the ocean; a community now very small,
but great in fame. Nay, of their ancient renown, many and
extensive are the traces and monuments still remaining; even
their entrenchments upon either shore, so vast in compass that
from thence you may even now measure the greatness and numerous
bands of that people, and assent to the account of an army so
mighty. It was on the six hundred and fortieth year of Rome,
when of the arms of the Cimbrians the first mention was made,
during the Consulship of Caecilius Metellus and Papirius Carbo.
If from that time we count to the second Consulship of the
Emperor Trajan, the interval comprehends near two hundred and
ten years; so long have we been conquering Germany. In a course
of time, so vast between these two periods, many have been the
blows and disasters suffered on each side. In truth neither from
the Samnites, nor from the Carthaginians, nor from both Spains,
nor from all the nations of Gaul, have we received more frequent
checks and alarms; nor even from the Parthians: for, more
vigorous and invincible is the liberty of the Germans than the
monarchy of the Arsacides. Indeed, what has the power of the
East to allege to our dishonour; but the fall of Crassus, that
power which was itself overthrown and abased by Ventidius, with
the loss of the great King Pacorus bereft of his life? But by
the Germans the Roman People have been bereft of five armies,
all commanded by Consuls; by the Germans, the commanders of
these armies, Carbo, and Cassius, and Scaurus Aurelius, and
Servilius Caepio, as also Marcus Manlius, were all routed or
taken: by the Germans even the Emperor Augustus was bereft of
Varus and three legions. Nor without difficulty and loss of men
were they defeated by Caius Marius in Italy, or by the deified
Julius in Gaul, or by Drusus or Tiberius or Germanicus in their
native territories. Soon after, the mighty menaces of Caligula
against them ended in mockery and derision. Thenceforward they
continued quiet, till taking advantage of our domestic division
and civil wars, they stormed and seized the winter entrenchments
of the legions, and aimed at the dominion of Gaul; from whence
they were once more expulsed, and in the times preceding the
present, we gained a triumph over them rather than a victory.

I must now proceed to speak of the
Suevians, who are not, like the Cattans and Tencterians,
comprehended in a single people; but divided into several
nations all bearing distinct names, though in general they are
entitled Suevians, and occupy the larger share of Germany. This
people are remarkable for a peculiar custom, that of twisting
their hair and binding it up in a knot. It is thus the Suevians
are distinguished from the other Germans, thus the free Suevians
from their slaves. In other nations, whether from alliance of
blood with the Suevians, or, as is usual, from imitation, this
practice is also found, yet rarely, and never exceeds the years
of youth. The Suevians, even when their hair is white through
age, continue to raise it backwards in a manner stern and
staring; and often tie it upon the top of their head only. That
of their Princes, is more accurately disposed, and so far they
study to appear agreeable and comely; but without any culpable
intention. For by it, they mean not to make love or to incite
it: they thus dress when proceeding to war, and deck their heads
so as to add to their height and terror in the eyes of the
enemy.

Of all the Suevians, the Semnones recount
themselves to be the most ancient and most noble. The belief of
their antiquity is confirmed by religious mysteries. At a stated
time of the year, all the several people descended from the same
stock, assemble by their deputies in a wood; consecrated by the
idolatries of their forefathers, and by superstitious awe in
times of old. There by publicly sacrificing a man, they begin
the horrible solemnity of their barbarous worship. To this grove
another sort of reverence is also paid. No one enters it
otherwise than bound with ligatures, thence professing his
subordination and meanness, and the power of the Deity there. If
he fall down, he is not permitted to rise or be raised, but
grovels along upon the ground. And of all their superstition,
this is the drift and tendency; that from this place the nation
drew their original, that here God, the supreme Governor of the
world, resides, and that all things else whatsoever are subject
to him and bound to obey him. The potent condition of the
Semnones has increased their influence and authority, as they
inhabit an hundred towns; and from the largeness of their
community it comes, that they hold themselves for the head of
the Suevians.

What on the contrary ennobles the
Langobards is the smallness of their number, for that they, who
are surrounded with very many and very powerful nations, derive
their security from no obsequiousness or plying; but from the
dint of battle and adventurous deeds. There follow in order the
Reudignians, and Aviones, and Angles, and Varinians, and
Eudoses, and Suardones and Nuithones; all defended by rivers or
forests. Nor in one of these nations does aught remarkable
occur, only that they universally join in the worship of
Herthum; that is to say, the Mother Earth. Her they believe to
interpose in the affairs of man, and to visit countries. In an
island of the ocean stands the wood Castum: in it is a chariot
dedicated to the Goddess, covered over with a curtain, and
permitted to be touched by none but the Priest. Whenever the
Goddess enters this her holy vehicle, he perceives her; and with
profound veneration attends the motion of the chariot, which is
always drawn by yoked cows. Then it is that days of rejoicing
always ensue, and in all places whatsoever which she descends to
honour with a visit and her company, feasts and recreation
abound. They go not to war; they touch no arms; fast laid up is
every hostile weapon; peace and repose are then only known, then
only beloved, till to the temple the same priest reconducts the
Goddess when well tired with the conversation of mortal beings.
Anon the chariot is washed and purified in a secret lake, as
also the curtains; nay, the Deity herself too, if you choose to
believe it. In this office it is slaves who minister, and they
are forthwith doomed to be swallowed up in the same lake. Hence
all men are possessed with mysterious terror; as well as with a
holy ignorance what that must be, which none see but such as are
immediately to perish. Moreover this quarter of the Suevians
stretches to the middle of Germany.

The community next adjoining, is that of
the Hermondurians; (that I may now follow the course of the
Danube, as a little before I did that of the Rhine) a people
this, faithful to the Romans. So that to them alone of all the
Germans, commerce is permitted; not barely upon the bank of the
Rhine, but more extensively, and even in that glorious colony in
the province of Rhoetia. They travel everywhere at their own
discretion and without a guard; and when to other nations, we
show no more than our arms and encampments, to this people we
throw open our houses and dwellings, as to men who have no
longing to possess them. In the territories of the Hermondurians
rises the Elbe, a river very famous and formerly well known to
us; at present we only hear it named.

Close by the Hermondurians reside the
Nariscans, and next to them the Marcomanians and Quadians.
Amongst these the Marcomanians are most signal in force and
renown; nay, their habitation itself they acquired by their
bravery, as from thence they formerly expulsed the Boians. Nor
do the Nariscans or Quadians degenerate in spirit. Now this is
as it were the frontier of Germany, as far as Germany is washed
by the Danube. To the times within our memory the Marcomanians
and Quadians were governed by kings, who were natives of their
own, descended from the noble line of Maroboduus and Tudrus. At
present they are even subject to such as are foreigners. But the
whole strength and sway of their kings is derived from the
authority of the Romans. From our arms, they rarely receive any
aid; from our money very frequently.

Nor less powerful are the several people
beyond them; namely, the Marsignians, the Gothinians, the Osians
and the Burians, who altogether enclose the Marcomanians and
Quadians behind. Of those, the Marsignians and the Burians in
speech and dress resemble the Suevians. From the Gallic language
spoken by the Gothinians, and from that of Pannonia by the
Osians, it is manifest that neither of these people are Germans;
as it is also from their bearing to pay tribute. Upon them as
upon aliens their tribute is imposed, partly by the Sarmatians,
partly by the Quadians. The Gothinians, to heighten their
disgrace, are forced to labour in the iron mines. By all these
several nations but little level country is possessed: they are
seated amongst forests, and upon the ridges and declivities of
mountains. For, Suevia is parted by a continual ridge of
mountains; beyond which, live many distinct nations. Of these
the Lygians are most numerous and extensive, and spread into
several communities. It will suffice to mention the most
puissant; even the Arians, Helvicones, Manimians; Elysians and
Naharvalians. Amongst the Naharvalians is shown a grove, sacred
to devotion extremely ancient. Over it a Priest presides
apparelled like a woman; but according to the explication of the
Romans, 'tis Castor and Pollux who are here worshipped. This
Divinity is named Alcis. There are indeed no images here, no
traces of an extraneous superstition: yet their devotion is
addressed to young men and to brothers. Now the Aryans, besides
their forces, in which they surpass the several nations just
recounted, are in their persons stern and truculent; and even
humour and improve their natural grimness and ferocity by art
and time. They wear black shields, their bodies are painted
black, they choose dark nights for engaging in battle; and by
the very awe and ghastly hue of their army, strike the enemy
with dread, as none can bear this their aspect so surprising and
as it were quite infernal. For, in all battles the eyes are
vanquished first.

Beyond the Lygians dwell the Gothones,
under the rule of a King; and thence held in subjection somewhat
stricter than the other German nations, yet not so strict as to
extinguish all their liberty. Immediately adjoining are the
Rugians and Lemovians upon the coast of the ocean, and of these
several nations the characteristics are a round shield, a short
sword and kingly government. Next occur the communities of the
Suiones, situated in the ocean itself; and besides their
strength in men and arms, very powerful at sea. The form of
their vessels varies thus far from ours, that they have prows at
each end, so as to be always ready to row to shore without
turning nor are they moved by sails, nor on their sides have
benches of oars placed, but the rowers ply here and there in all
parts of the ship alike, as in some rivers is done, and change
their oars from place to place, just as they shift their course
hither or thither. To wealth also, amongst them, great
veneration is paid, and thence a single ruler governs them,
without all restriction of power, and exacting unlimited
obedience. Neither here, as amongst other nations of Germany,
are arms used indifferently by all, but shut up and warded under
the care of a particular keeper, who in truth too is always a
slave: since from all sudden invasions and attacks from their
foes, the ocean protects them: besides that armed bands, when
they are not employed, grow easily debauched and tumultuous. The
truth is, it suits not the interest of an arbitrary Prince, to
trust the care and power of arms either with a nobleman or with
a freeman, or indeed with any man above the condition of a
slave.

Beyond the Suiones is another sea, one very
heavy and almost void of agitation; and by it the whole globe is
thought to be bounded and environed, for that the reflection of
the sun, after his setting, continues till his rising, so bright
as to darken the stars. To this, popular opinion has added, that
the tumult also of his emerging from the sea is heard, that
forms divine are then seen, as likewise the rays about his head.
Only thus far extend the limits of nature, if what fame says be
true. Upon the right of the Suevian Sea the Aestyan nations
reside, who use the same customs and attire with the Suevians;
their language more resembles that of Britain. They worship the
Mother of the Gods. As the characteristic of their national
superstition, they wear the images of wild boars. This alone
serves them for arms, this is the safeguard of all, and by this
every worshipper of the Goddess is secured even amidst his foes.
Rare amongst them is the use of weapons of iron, but frequent
that of clubs. In producing of grain and the other fruits of the
earth, they labour with more assiduity and patience than is
suitable to the usual laziness of Germans. Nay, they even search
the deep, and of all the rest are the only people who gather
amber. They call it glasing, and find it amongst the shallows
and upon the very shore. But, according to the ordinary
incuriosity and ignorance of Barbarians, they have neither
learnt, nor do they inquire, what is its nature, or from what
cause it is produced. In truth it lay long neglected amongst the
other gross discharges of the sea; till from our luxury, it
gained a name and value. To themselves it is of no use: they
gather it rough, they expose it in pieces coarse and unpolished,
and for it receive a price with wonder. You would however
conceive it to be a liquor issuing from trees, for that in the
transparent substance are often seen birds and other animals,
such as at first stuck in the soft gum, and by it, as it
hardened, became quite enclosed. I am apt to believe that, as in
the recesses of the East are found woods and groves dropping
frankincense and balms, so in the isles and continent of the
West such gums are extracted by the force and proximity of the
sun; at first liquid and flowing into the next sea, then thrown
by winds and waves upon the opposite shore. If you try the
nature of amber by the application of fire, it kindles like a
torch; and feeds a thick and unctuous flame very high scented,
and presently becomes glutinous like pitch or rosin.

Upon the Suiones, border the people
Sitones; and, agreeing with them in all other things, differ
from them in one, that here the sovereignty is exercised by a
woman. So notoriously do they degenerate not only from a state
of liberty, but even below a state of bondage. Here end the
territories of the Suevians.

Whether amongst the Sarmatians or the
Germans I ought to account the Peucinians, the Venedians, and
the Fennians, is what I cannot determine; though the Peucinians,
whom some call Basstarnians, speak the same language with the
Germans, use the same attire, build like them, and live like
them, in that dirtiness and sloth so common to all. Somewhat
they are corrupted into the fashion of the Sarmatians by the
inter-marriages of the principal sort with that nation: from
whence the Venedians have derived very many of their customs and
a great resemblance. For they are continually traversing and
infesting with robberies all the forests and mountains lying
between the Peucinians and Fennians. Yet they are rather
reckoned amongst the Germans, for that they have fixed houses,
and carry shields, and prefer travelling on foot, and excel in
swiftness. Usages these, all widely differing from those of the
Sarmatians, who live on horseback and dwell in waggons. In
wonderful savageness live the nation of the Fennians, and in
beastly poverty, destitute of arms, of horses, and of homes;
their food, the common herbs; their apparel, skins; their bed,
the earth; their only hope in their arrows, which for want of
iron they point with bones. Their common support they have from
the chase, women as well as men; for with these the former
wander up and down, and crave a portion of the prey. Nor other
shelter have they even for their babes, against the violence of
tempests and ravening beasts, than to cover them with the
branches of trees twisted together; this a reception for the old
men, and hither resort the young. Such a condition they judge
more happy than the painful occupation of cultivating the
ground, than the labour of rearing houses, than the agitations
of hope and fear attending the defence of their own property or
the seizing that of others. Secure against the designs of men,
secure against the malignity of the Gods, they have accomplished
a thing of infinite difficulty; that to them nothing remains
even to be wished.

What further accounts we have are fabulous:
as that the Hellusians and Oxiones have the countenances and
aspect of men, with the bodies and limbs of savage beasts. This,
as a thing about which I have no certain information, I shall
leave untouched.

Sources:

The first part of the above is from
Tacitus, The Agricola and Germania, A. J. Church and
W. J. Brodribb, trans., (London: Macmillan, 1877), pp. 87ff

The second part, in which Tacitus gives a
geographical account of the locations of the main German
tribes, is from the 18th-century translation by Thomas Gordon.